The Skank Reflex Analysis
"The Skank Reflex Analysis" is the first episode of the fifth season of the The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on September 22, 2011 as a back-to-back episode with The Infestation Hypothesis. Summary Penny worries that her behavior has screwed things up permanently with her friends, while Sheldon takes command of the paintball team. Extended Plot The episode starts just a couple of hours after the previous season 4 episode, with Sheldon trying to solve a "puzzle" presented by what Penny said in the last episode ("It's not what it looks like."). Howard and an embarrassed Raj arrive and Sheldon informs them about instead. Amy arrives saying that she knows that Penny had sex with Raj. Just as they are about to exit the apartment, they bump into Leonard and Sheldon. Penny asks Amy if she can sleep at her apartment for a while and Amy delightfully welcomes her, exclaiming about how she can finally experience a traditional girls' . At their apartment, Leonard is showing Sheldon his suit for the Paintball Tournament which he cites as unnecessary, while Sheldon pretends the camouflage is extremely effective. Sheldon has called up Leonard's mother, Beverly Hofstadter, to console Leonard. After Leonard tells her his troubles, her sole piece of advice is "Buck up, sissy-pants." Later, Raj is seen drinking beer in his apartment, just as an angry Bernadette bursts in knowing that he told Howard about his love for her. Raj asks her if he has a shot with Penny, to which Bernadette reassures him that he does. Back at Amy's apartment, Amy is combing Penny's hair, following girl's sleepover tradition. Raj enters and Amy leaves them alone. (Try and keep it in your pants!) Raj asks Penny to go on a date. Penny says that she had intercourse with Raj purely because she was drunk. Raj visits Penny's apartment to tell her what happened last night. He tells her that they didn't have sex in the convenient way. Penny desperately asks him if he didn't do any "Indian crap" on her in bed. Raj explains that they actually did not have sexual intercourse, but in fact, when Raj was putting on the , he had a "premature" start when Penny helped putting it on, and they both fell asleep naked, but had no memory of the event because they were drunk. Penny is both shocked and relieved by this. They also agree not to tell the others. The boys are discussing strategies in a paintball shack, Sheldon shows an overhead display of the paintball field via and explains his plan to take out the Department. Leonard, Howard, and Raj are not in the mood to play paintball. Sheldon blames himself for his team's lack of motivation and tries to rip off the Captain insignia he had sewn on, but he is unable to do so. Sheldon begins to exit the shack, and when Leonard asks him where is he going, Sheldon replies that he is "following the footsteps of Kirk, and ." Sheldon leaves the shack, stands in the open and provokes the enemy by saying "Geology is not a real science!", in turn sacrificing himself; he is shot at least 20 times. Angered, Sheldon's team attacks the enemy and emerge victorious. Back at the apartment, the boys are celebrating their victory and toast their Captain, who has promoted himself to Major Sheldon Cooper. Penny enters the apartment, proclaiming that she is going back to Nebraska because her acting career is failing - at that exact moment, her agent calls her, telling her that she got a part in a for . In the final scene, the gang watches the commercial in which Penny stars. {Sitting pretty!) Critics "We don't really understand how Penny and Leonard see one another with much depth. We don't really understand Raj's feelings beyond him being a bit sad and lonely but with an edge of jerk to make him funny. That story has so little emotional resonance because we spent our time on the cameos. Similarly, I don't know if Sheldon really had a master plan to win the paintball game...That story has so little emotional resonance because we spent our time on the cameos... A new season but very much the same show." - The TV Critic's Review Notes *'Title Reference': Amy refers to Penny's sexual action with Raj as "The Skank Reflex," which is, according to her, what call sexually loose behavior. *Chuck Lorre's vanity card http://www.chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php?p=349 *This episode was watched by 14.30 million people with a rating of 4.9 (adults 18-49). Quotes Leonard: (After Howard claims Penny would've slept with him instead of Raj) Please! Sheldon would've been before you, and he might not even have genitals! (One minute later, after much conversation) Sheldon: For the record, I do have genitals. They’re functional and aesthetically pleasing. ---- Penny: You heard, what I did? Amy: Well, I heard who you did. ---- ''Bernadette: (Furious with Raj for confessing his fleeting feelings for her to Howard) What the hell is wrong with you?!'' Raj: You were always so nice to me, I thought maybe you liked me. Bernadette: I’M NICE TO EVERYONE! ---- Amy: (After finding Raj at her door while Penny staying with her) A guest in my trundle bed and a boy at my door? I wish I could tell 13-year-old me, it does get better! ---- Penny: We should have never slept together. It's what ruins friendships. Raj: You can't ruin a friendship with sex. That's like trying to ruin ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. ---- Raj: (To Penny, after confessing that they didn't have sex) Can I say I ruined you for white men? ---- Sheldon: (During a paintball game against the Geology Department) ''Geology isn't a real science! ---- '''Sheldon:' Penny’s brain teaser this morning. She and Koothrappali emerge from your bedroom. She is dishevelled, and Raj is dressed only in a sheet. The sole clue, it’s not what it looks like. Sheldon: Just let it go, Sheldon. Sheldon: If I could, I would, but I can’t, so I shan’t. Now, knowing Penny, the obvious answer is, they engaged in coitus. But, since that’s what it looked like, we can rule that out. Let’s put on our thinking cap, shall we? (Mimes doing so) Raj is from India, a tropical country. Third World hygiene. Parasitic infections are common, such as pinworms. Mm-hmm. The procedure for diagnosing pinworms is to wait until the subject is asleep, and the worms crawl out of the rectum for air. (Leonard spits out food) Yes, just like that. Penny could have been inspecting Raj’s anal region for parasites. Oh, boy. That’s a true blue friend. Trivia *This is the third of five episodes to have a "Previously on The Big Bang Theory" review of past events. It includes clips from "The Herb Garden Germination" and "The Roommate Transmogrification", and it is narrated by Johnny Galecki. *In this episode, ironically, it is Leonard who reveals Raj's "love" to Bernadette to Howard, causing a turmoil among Howard, Bernadette and Raj, since previously in The Herb Garden Germination (S4E20) Leonard told Penny, "Well, the point is, if this got out, it would destroy Howard and Raj's friendship." Leonard also cites Raj's poem "O Bernadette, please play my clarinet", which was also first referred in that episode. *Sheldon and Beverly Hofstadter think Leonard likes to point out the obvious since he was a . *Beverly has written books about parenting, which are (not in real life) available on Amazon.com. *Sheldon thinks he follows in the footsteps of Captains Kirk, Crunch, and Kangaroo. *Amy has a secret language, which she dubs "Op." In the language she spells out every word (except for the first in a sentence) and adds 'op' to the end of each consonant. For example, instead of "sounds great," its "sounds gop rop e a top!" It is probably a tribute to . *Sheldon still takes things literally. For example, when Penny tells the guys in the season 4 final that her sleeping with Raj is "not what it looks like," he spends the rest of the day trying to figure out what she meant. He comes to the conclusion that Penny was checking Raj's anal region for because of what it looked like to him and because Raj is from ; a . Leonard then clarifies that they did have sex and she lied. *Howard claims Penny would've slept with him before Raj if he wasn't engaged to Bernadette. Leonard believes Sheldon would have a better chance with Penny than him. *Penny is willing to drink wine out of anything. She thinks that after drinking wine from a measuring cup, that should have handles. Amy mentions that is good that she is now measuring her alcoholic intake. *When Penny is about to go out with Amy, she says she wants to go "somewhere where no one's seen me naked", and then they open the door to see Sheldon and Leonard, who both have seen her naked - Leonard in various episodes of Season 3 (when they have sex), and Sheldon in The Adhesive Duck Deficiency (S3E08). *Raj is always "packing" condoms. *This episode is the first of a three-episode arc continued in "The Infestation Hypothesis" and "The Pulled Groin Extrapolation". The calculations on the whiteboards refer to attempts to create in an artificial generated by focusing 192 onto a small pellet at the of . As shown on the whiteboards’ , electrons in the Sun's core could produce a detectable number of axions. Axions are particles originally conceived in the late 1970′s to give a natural explanation in of why the obeys certain symmetries. *When Sheldon falls to his knees after being shot numerous times in the paintball match he strikes the same pose as from the movie " ". *Penny lets Raj tell other people that their burned too brightly, but not that he ruined her for white guys. *This season premiere takes place immediately after the last episode of the previous season. *Penny is steadily becoming an from her guilt over the loss of Leonard. *Leonard called Sheldon's Mother twice, so Sheldon called Leonard's Mother when he thought he needed help. *Sheldon wears the army rank of captain and at the end of the episode he promotes himself to major. Video thumb|300px|left|The Skank Reflex Analysis Sneak Peek Gallery skankreflex5.jpg|Paintball. Skankreflex6.jpg|Penny. Skankreflex4.jpg|Amy heard about who she slept with. Skankreflex3.jpg|The gang watching Penny's commercial. Skankreflex.jpg|Penny eating. skankreflex2.jpg|Bernadette yelling at Raj. Season-premiere.jpg|Let's just be friends. S5Ep01 - Amy questions Penny.jpg|Amy questions Penny. S5Ep01 - Leonard looking miserable.jpg|Leonard looking miserable. S5Ep01 - Leonard.jpg|Leonard in the Caltech cafeteria. S5Ep01 - Raj with Penny.jpg|Raj with Penny, explaining to the guys how they "had a crazy night". S5Ep01 - Rajesh.jpg|Raj in the cafeteria. S5Ep01 - Sheldon.jpg|Sheldon in the paintball shack. S5Ep01 - The gang.jpg|Penny and the rest of the guys. es:The Skank Reflex Analysis Category:Captain James T. Kirk Category:Season 5 Category:Featured Article Category:Season premiere Category:Articles With Videos Category:Penny Episode Category:Penny Acting Category:Leonard's Mother Category:Leonard and Priya Category:Episodes